CHAR B1 bis

Description

This B1 bis heavy tank represented the principle striking
force of the Reserve Armoured Divisions (DCR) and was one of the most
advanced tanks of its time.

Two B1 bis tanks in 12mm from Minifigs

Development

The initial requirement for the Char B1, known as le char de
bataille (the battle tank) was drawn up in 1921 and called for a 13-ton
vehicle with a maximum armour plate thickness of 25mm to be armed with
a hull mounted 75mm gun for infantry support and two machine-guns
situated in a rotating turret. Four companies built prototypes.

The Schneider-Renault prototype was chosen as the basis for
the new tank along with its steering mechanism, engine and gearbox. The
suspension and running gear were taken from the FAMH prototype and the
tracks from the FCM prototype.

A contract for three prototype Char B1s was placed with
Renault on 17th January 1926 and delivery started in January 1929.
These tanks weighed 25 tonnes, had a crew of four and a
maximum of 25mm armour. They were armed with one 75mm hull gun, two
hull machine guns, and two turret-mounted machine guns.

Trials continued until 1935, by which time the maximum armour
had increased to 40mm which increased the weight to 28 tonnes.

In March of 1935 the Germans re-occupied the Rhineland 40
Chars B1s were ordered while at the same time design work started on an
up-armoured version designated the Char B1 bis

The Char B1s were based on the prototype tanks but with a cast
APX 1 turret armed with a 47mm SA 34 short-barrelled cannon and coaxial
machine gun. Only 35 were completed before production switched in 1938
to the Char B1 bis. Only a few Char B1 tanks saw service in hastily put
together units after the German invasion.

The Char B1 bis with its extra armour weighed 32 tonnes and
therefore needed a more powerful 300 hp
Renault engine to haul the weight. The APX 1 turret was exchanged for
the similar but thicker APX
4 turret that mounted the improved 47mm SA 35 long-barrelled cannon and
coaxial machine gun.

Even though production of the B1 bis was ordered in 1935 it
was known to have certain disadvantages; the sidewalls and tracks had
proven vulnerable to armour-piercing shells and practical experience
had revealed the disadvantage of aiming the 75mm gun solely by aligning
the tank. The new design called B1 ter would improve this give this gun
a mounting with a limited traverse of five degrees each way and
increase armour from 60mm to 75mm. Only three were completed by June
1940 and these were sunk while aboard a cargo ship.

B1 bis PARIS - Here you can clearly see
that the turret has a cupola instead of
a hatch so that the commander must use the door in the back of the
turret
in order to get a good view - no way to ride into battle!

Operation

The driver sat at the left front of the vehicle. He was the
only crew member apart from the commander who had any means to see what
was going on outside. In addition to driving he also used the Naeder
steering system to line up the 75mm SA 35 hull gun as it couldn't
traverse left or right. A 7.5 mm machine-gun was on the right of the
hull, and could be fired via a cable connection by the driver or the
commander.

The loader and
wireless operator were both situated at the base of the tank
commander’s feet. The loader served the two hull guns; the
75mm and the machine-gun. The 75mm HE shells needed to be fused before
loading which increased the work-load for the loader and reduced the
guns rate-of-fire. The loader also provided ammunition to the
tank commander when the 47mm
ready-rounds were used up.

The wireless operator could also assist the commander in
loading the turret gun although there was not enough space for him in
the turret.

The tank commander was the sole occupant of the cast APX 4 turret
which was armed with the 47mm SA 35 high velocity
armour
piercing gun along with a coaxial machine-gun and equipped
with
electric power traverse. The turret had a cupola where most other tanks
would have a turret hatch. The commander could not raise his head out
of the turret and thus had a more restricted view than was possible for
German tank commanders who often when into battle so.

The commander was very overworked in a one-man turret. Apart from
commanding the tank and directing the driver, fired and loaded the
turret cannon. So in action he would have his head in the cupola
directing the driver, he would then have to spot the target and jump
down into the turret when he would rotate the turret onto the target,
peer through the gun-sight and set the range, fire the gun, and then
reach down and grab a new round and load.

The commander’s life in the B1 was easier than in the two-man
light tanks because he at least had a radio operator to help him
communicate and perhaps even load and turret rotation was electrically
instead of manually.

The crew normally communicated by shouting at each other over
the noise of the engine. There were a number of lights that allowed the
commander to communicate simple orders to the driver such as turn
right/left, increase/decrease speed or cease fire. Although not
generally available, an intercom system with throat microphones and
headphones had been tested in 1940.

There was a radiator on the right hand side of the hull. Myth has it
that this was a weakness and became a favourite aiming point for German
gunners. However the armour over the radiator was no weaker than the
rest of the side and the examination of several hundred wrecks does not
show a particular concentration of impacts on this zone.

B1 bis by Pithead Miniatures

Radio

The tanks were origanlly equipped
with an ER 53 mle
1932 radio
which
was morse key-only and had a range of 15 km. Early 1940 these were
replaced by the ER 51 mle 1938 which had both voice and morse key as
well as a slightly improved range of 15-20 km. Command tanks
had a second radio operator and
probably
also an ER30 which had a maximum range of 20km when moving and
40km
when stationary. The radios were very unreliable and had
problems with
short battery-life.

Stonne

When used correctly, and not plagued by unreliability, the B1 bis was a
deadly tank
as proven at the town of Stonne on 16th May 1940. Even the radios
worked that day!

The day started at 3am with commandant Malaguti of the 41st
tank battalion (BCC)
3rd Armoured Division (DCR) leading the
attack in his B1 bis Vienne.
The advance
is in V formation with the 7 tanks of 1st company in
echolon to the left and the 7 tanks of 3rd company in echelon to the
right. The attack is supported by 10th & 11th companies of 3rd
battalion 51st Infantry Regiment from the 3rd Motorised Infantry
Division (DIM)
and their direct
support the 2nd company 45th BCC (Hotchkiss H39 tanks).

At 5:15am the first German opposition was encontered; the
Infantry Regiment Grossdeutschland supported by two tanks. The
two tanks are quickly destroyed without loss and the 41st BCC continued
its advance towards the enemy. Grossdeutschland kept up an intesive
fire including anti-tank guns until the B1 bis reached 100m when most
of the German feld, those that remained in their foxholes were mopped
up by the following infantry.

The B1 bis Eure
commanded by capitaine Billotte, from the 1st company 41st BCC, then
proceded to enter the town where it
met head on a column of 13 German tanks
from the 10th Panzer Division's 8th Panzer Regiment.
At a range of only 30m, capitaine Billotte used the 47mm to destroy the
first tank
in the column while his driver sergent Durupt took out the last tank
using the 75mm. Eure
then advanced and destroyed the remaining 11 tanks.
Leaving the smouldering wrecks of 2 Panzer IV and 11 Panzer III tanks
in its wake, Eure
then advanced to complete its days work by destroying
two 37mm PAK 36 anti-tank guns. During the course of the day, Eure had
been hit 140 times, but none of the shots had penetrated.

During the same battle, the B1 bis Somme was
attacked by two 37mm PAK 36 anti-tank guns but these again failed to
penetrate even at a range of 100m. They did however manage to destroy
the optics of the cupola. As Somme
advanced it fell into an
unseen gully on its side. Somme
was set on fire by its crew to prevent
it falling into German hands and then the crew returned to their own
lines.

Of the four B1 bis tanks lost in the battle that day, only one
was destroyed by eneny action: Vertus.
The Trépail
had a mechanical breakdown, Somme
was immobilized in a gully
and Meursault
was first immobilized in a gully
and after being pulled out later had a mechanical breakdown.

Deployment

Char B1 bis tanks equipped the
four Reserve Armoured
Divisions (DCR).
The first three DCRs had 68 B1 bis tanks per division together with 90
Hotchkiss H 39 light tanks. There was a shortage of tanks when
the 4th
DCR was
mobilised so it had some of its B1 bis heavy tanks replaced by D2
medium
tanks and R 35 light tanks instead of H 39.

10th May 1940

When the Germans's attacked the
French army had the
following 206 Char B1bis tanks on active service.

8th BCC: 31+3 B1 bis (part of
2nd DCR)

15th BCC: 31+3 B1 bis (part of
2nd DCR)

28th BCC: 31+3 B1 bis (part of
1st DCR)

37th BCC: 31+3 B1 bis (part of
1st DCR)

41st BCC: 31+3 B1 bis (part of
3rd DCR)

49th BCC: 31+3 B1 bis (part of
3rd DCR)

1st DCR: 1 B1 bis (as command
tank)

2nd DCR: 1 B1 bis (as command
tank)

During the fighting the following
tanks were added.

28th BCC: 31+3 B1 bis
(reconstituted)

46th BCC: 31+3 B1 bis (part of
4th DCR)

47th BCC: 18 B1 bis (1st
& 3rd companies - part of
4th DCR)

3/37th BCC: 5 B1
(reinforcement)

347th CACC: 12 B1 and 3 B1 bis

348th CACC: 10 B1 bis

349th CACC: 10 B1 bis (ex 2/47e
BCC)

352th CACC: 10 B1 bis

Compagnie Bibes: 11 B1 bis (2
turretless tanks)

Compagnie de marche du 10e BCC:
8 B1 bis (4 turretless
tanks)

B1 bis tank in 12mm from Minifigs

Tank Names

Individual tank names were
carried by most B1 and B1 bis
tanks. Names on other types of tank were rare. The names were painted
on some or all of the following: turret side, hull front and hull side.
The names had often, but not always, a small French flag painted
underneath them.